"Frontier and The Flight from Hell"
 

The flight from Hell.

This past July 13th, I flew F9 from DEN to SFO in Y. About 5 minutes after boarding, an FA came by my aisle seat and asked me to switch to the window seat bacause of a woman with a baby who wanted my seat rather than the window seat she was given. After an uncomfortable few seconds, I said no since I am claustrophobic. The FA asked again "are you sure you can't help", but I stuck with "no" as my answer.

A few minutes later, two people of exceptional "size" lumbered down the aisle looking angry and annoyed. About 5 feet from my seat the man murmured "yea...he looks like an a**hole too" to his companion. They made an point of glaring at me, bumping me, and continuing to utter insults under their breath. The tension was indcredible and I felt horrible having been put in this situation by the FA and Frontier.

Within a few minutes, I overheard their conversation and was able to deduce that they had moved up to this earlier flight due to their flight into DEN being early.

The man continued to talk about me as if I wasn't there...saying awful things like "what an a**hole", "f**king as* hole", and other horrible crude things. He also continued to bump me and push me until I feared a physical confrontation. Since the flight was totally full, changing seats was not an option. At this point, I left my seat and stood in the rear galley chatting with the FA for 20 minutes(not the one who asked me to change seats).

Eventually I went to use the smelly lavatory and while taking a pee....glanced down and noticed a diaper on the floor. I tipped it with my foot and saw that it was filled with horrible smelling feces. I nearly vomited and ran out of the lavatory. I told the FA and she removed it with protective gloves....then informed me that it was an ADULT diaper! OMG.

A few minutes later, the purser (mean and bossy) came back and ordered me back to my seat. Lovely.

Needless to say...that's the end of me and Frontier. Although I'm American by birth, I'm glad I live in Asia. The USA has become more and more rude, crude, and unpleasant. Not like the country I remember from my youth. :(

It sounds like your biggest problem were 2 other passengers. This could have happened on any flight on any character. While they could have attempted to accomodate you better with a full flight what were they supposed to do?

I don't believe Frontier should have put me in this awkward position. Those passengers should have been put on their original flight.

The diaper wasn't Frontiers fault but added to the unpleasantness of the day.

These type of things never happen to me in Asia. Air Asia (for example) uses new & comfortable aircraft, kind & attractive FA's, modern & stylish airports. Flying in the States is like a "third world" experience now....but most Americans don't know it.

Asking you to change seats with someone? The next time it could be you who asked for such help. Perhaps you have to travel with an elderly parent or young child for an emergency at short notice, and there are not two adjacent seats. Or perhaps only window seats are available, which is trouble for your claustrophobia. You'd likely look for someone to switch seats for you.

You certainly have the right to choose to retain your original seat, and perhaps you feel the F/A should not have asked you a second time. But the next time it may be you who needs someone to change seats. It is fully reasonable for the F/A to have asked.

If those two passenges had been originally booked on your flight, how would that have made the least bit of difference?

You cannot fault Frontier for putting those two people on an earlier flight. What, should the Frontier agent have recognized that those two passengers were undesirable and insisted that the people on their originally-booked flight should be subjected to them, not people on a different flight? That's absurd. For all you know, those two seats opened up on your flight because Frontier put two even more objectionable passengers on an earlier flight.

As for the lousy things you experienced on your flight, clearly they were unfortunate. Sometimes life sucks. But were those things the fault of the airline? No. Can you possibly think that the same thing could not have happened to you flying a different US domestic airline in coach?

Your experience makes a good cocktail party anecdote, and you're very justified in bemoaning the lousy experience you had. It was a flight from hell. But the result of unreasonable actions by Frontier Airlines? Nope.

Flying in much of non-western world is not of the masses like it is in the US. Comparing international travel in Asia versus the US domestic coach is somewhat apples and oranges. US domestic passengers have overwhelmingly shown time and again that, for the most part, they want cheap fares above all else no matter what lip service they pay to quality.

:rolleyes: F9 uses very new and modern aircraft. In fact, with the merger, they've been ordering new Airbus and E-jets.. They also have one of the youngest Airbus fleets in the United States.

How is it an "third world" experience? Please describe. :rolleyes"

Sorry to hear about your experience on Frontier. Fortunately, I have never come close to the experience you describe.

I wonder though how your situation might have been improved if you had chosen to respond differently? For example, what if you had said, "I am more than happy to help out the mother and her baby, but as silly as this sounds, I am claustrophobic and cannot sit in a window, or middle seat. Can you locate another aisle seat for me so that I can help this mother?

By responding in the positive, versus the negative, I bet the FA's response would have been completely different and the two brutes would have never harassed you.

Just my two cents.

Having flown Asian airlines, I have experienced rude and crude passengers there too. And the toilets are just a smelly and adventuresome.

What I do find troubling is that the family would know that you were the passenger who would not give up a seat. Why would she point you out to them? Why would she not ask someone else in an aisle?

It seems kind of peculiar. Maybe they specifically asked if 18C was open or of the person could move because they were in 18D and 18F and wanted to be across the aisle. In that case it wasn't any aisle seat but was a specific one.

Except for the self deprecating clause I think that's a very constructive rebuttal.

I question whether someone with claustrophobia really is likely to be "more than happy to help out" in this case. Speaking of one's problem as silly while in the very environment that may trigger an anxiety response sends a conflicting message, casts doubt on the sincerity of one's words and unnecessarily ups one's baseline anxiety. Genuine empathy towards another distressed flier doesn't seem a stretch of imagination here but rational self-interest will likely dictate one's response more than any other factor.

As someone prone to panic attacks during periods of prolonged confinement I empathize with part of the OP's predicament. Building on Stumblefoot's useful approach, another reply to the FA might be: "I'd like to help out as long as I can be accommodated in another aisle seat. What specific seat did you have in mind?" If FA doesn't know offhand or simply presses harder for a unguaranteed favor then calmly inform them "I'm claustrophobic and cannot tolerate middle or window seats. I'm sorry, but my answer is 'no'." It's polite but final and should be perfectly acceptable without further discussion. Return to whatever you were doing before the request or just sit back and close your eyes. (And repeat to yourself as necessary: " 'No' is a complete sentence." :)) If the FA continues there's a bigger problem at play and one that probably has little to nothing to do with you. How and whether to escalate the FA's problem to the purser, the pilot or a gate agent is another thread for another time.

I like your solution much better than mine essxjay. :)

Interesting Comments
 

A couple of things came to mind as I read the posted comments.

It is relevant that these people were booked on a later flight and were moved up to mine. When F9 offered these people an earlier flight, they should have told them they could move up to an earlier flight, but there were no aisles available. Mr. and Mrs. von Rudencrude would have the choice; original later flight with ideal seating OR earlier flight without ideal seating.

But as it was...Frontier offered them this deal; Original later flight with ideal seating OR earlier flight with MY ideal seating.

As far as dealing with the situation in a positive way...by "offering to move to another aisle seat". It's illogical. As I said, the flight was completely full. So if I offered to move to another aisle seat....how would that have solved the problem? There were no other free seats on the plane.

As it was...I was polite and courteous. It is not my responsibility to discuss my phobias with complete strangers, and it is not my responsibility to solve the problem these people chose.

With regard to my comment about American travel being "third world", a reader commented "How is it an "third world" experience? Please describe. :rolleyes"

I would simply ask "Have you visited Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok airports lately? Have you visited St. Louis, Dulles, or Philly airport lately? Obviously....I don't mean all American airports and airlines are second rate. I just mean that the "travel experience" in the States is generally less appealing and pleasant than in Asia. Most importantly, travel professionals in Asia treat customers with more dignity and respect than Americans do. It didn't used to be that way.

When you refer to third world head to Africa if you want a real experience of what real third world airport experience feel like.

As for you situation, I accept you first argument because I too have been requested to move and refused. It was an awkward situation but frankly there are a lot worse thing to me that would make it a flight from hell, like not landing, major mechanical issues etc. Airlines and people aren't perfect and instead of just letting it burn at you realize that "sh*t happens" and get over it, that is my two sense.

Two cents ^^^^.

I almost vomited in my mouth reading that last bit!

Unless there is a significant prevailing medical condition that would prevent a person from sitting in their assigned seat, I don't see any reason for switching.

One bit I didn't get is that why were the two men were pissed at you when you refused to switch seats with a lady and her kid. Were they related or something?

I appreciate a GA's proactive approach to solving seating problems. I find that AS does this a lot now. However, if I politely decline, then the matter should be over. The GA had absolutely no reason to single the OP out to the customers -- that is a blatant violation of privacy. In addition, the GA potentially put the OP in a harmful situation.

I hope that the OP took the time to write a letter to the airline and concisely explain the situation. If I didn't get a quick, satisfactory response, a complaint letter would go to the DOT as well.